"I Dreamed I Lay" for SATB Choir, by David R. Gonzalez
Text by Robert Burns

Performed by the 2014 Texas State University Singers

This piece, for SATB choir, was influenced in part by Maurice Ravel’s Trois Chansons and Benjamin Britten’s Spring Symphony and Five Flower Songs. The text, by Robert Burns, is full of so many references to nature (“falling crystal stream,” “birds singing”) that simply caught my eye and grabbed my attention. The poem is reminiscent of a care-free afternoon spent daydreaming of a long-lost love, fondly yet tinged with a sense of anguish.


I Dreamed I Lay (for SATB Choir)

"Painting for Two Mallets" for Solo Marimba, by David R. Gonzalez
Performed by David R. Gonzalez

Painting for 2 Mallets was first conceived in 2011 in preparation for my Senior Recital. The ideas for the piece stem from some free-improvisations that were used as a mental break from the hours-long practice sessions on required repertoire. The piece is loosely organized in form, but in texture, it is an exploration of a special glissando technique that is simple in and of itself, but can produce interesting melodic lines.

Painting for Two Mallets (Marimba)

"Mila's Lullaby" by David R. Gonzalez

This piece was written for my niece, Mila, upon her first birthday. Though the track uses MIDI instruments, the harp and piano sounds still captivate me, and the simplicity and playfulness of the melody reflect, in my mind, the peacefulness of a baby's thoughts.

Mila's Lullaby

"Not Soon Enough" by David R. Gonzalez
Performed by Danton Bankay, Brian Lindsay, Juan Mago, and David Gonzalez

Scored for Speaker, 2 Percussionists, and Piano

The text for this piece is from a set of my own writings from 2010. There was a photograph I saw once which is set from the perspective of someone facing a large group of spectators. From this photograph, I imagined a situation for someone who felt wrongfully accused of some unknown atrocity. The lines of the text reveal the deep and personal inner-workings of this person’s mind. 

The setting of the music and instrumentation was largely inspired by the music of John Cage, particularly Living Room Music and Amores, in which contrasting sounds are juxtaposed to create a somewhat unexpected texture.

Not Soon Enough (for Percussion)

"The Princess" (2014) by David R. Gonzalez
Performed by Susan Anderson and John Sessions

The text for The Princess is taken from a Tennyson poem of the same name about a young woman who, betrothed since birth, renounces love in the pursuit of feminist ideals and gender equality. This excerpt takes place in the princess' chambers following a fierce Montague-Capulet-like battle, where the princess is nursing her dying, betrothed prince back to health. At the beginning of the song, the stance of the princess is one of resistance , but after self-reflection and because of the prince's impending death, becomes resigned and pleading.

The music's through-composed nature is meant to parallel this gradual shift in tone of the speaker, as seen in the transformation of the phrase "Ask me no more."

The Princess (Art Song)

"A Moment In Time" (2015) for Solo Piano by David R. Gonzalez

Performed by Martin E. Kesuma

This piece came from a set of daily free-improvisations which, for me, were an escape from time, outside the daily routine dictated by the clock. The idea of a “moment” fascinates me because a moment is indefinite and difficult to describe in concrete terms; a moment is either fleeting or it can feel eternal, depending on the current state of mind. In music, one can create a sense of “staying in the moment” through the use of repetition, and this piece achieves that by the gradual transformation of an ascending pattern. The mood of this piece is one of quiet contemplation, as if reflecting on a fond memory of someone or of something far away, yet just as a memory can be soothing it can just as easily be painful and bitter.

A Moment In Time (Solo Piano)

David R. Gonzalez is a composer of Classical, Jazz, and Electronic music based in Austin, TX who holds a M.M. in Composition from Texas State University and a B.M. in Music Business from New Mexico State University. 

As a disciple of both Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, who have both written beautiful music beyond compare, David Gonzalez continually seeks out music that appeases the soul and inspires a sense of wonder. In the same way, David has been greatly influenced by the mesmerizing music of Steve Reich and the rhythmically intricate sounds of John Cage.

David R. Gonzalez

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